Brazil Gang-rape: Why We All Share Some Responsibility

Another gang-rape has been reported, this time in South America. A 16-year-old girl has been raped by allegedly more than 30 men in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She was drugged and then raped by 33 men. The act was filmed by some of them and then uploaded on social media. As this was not bad enough, some of them tweeted fotos with ridiculously offensive captions. Offensive for the victim, for themselves and for society.

When one first reads she was unconscious when being raped, the first reaction is obviously to think that at least she didn’t suffer as much as she would if she were conscious. It might be true; it is probably true. But if we look at it from a macro-perspective, it is a worse trauma for society.

Think about it: if the victim was conscious, she would be most probably resisting. Which means screaming, fighting etc. The rapists would need more effort to commit the crime. There would be real violence involved. It is commonly accepted that only a criminal or sick mind could do this.

In the contrary, when the rapist drugs his victim, there is a lot more of premeditation involved. And then, since the victim does not react, it seems alright to keep raping her. Since she shows no resistance, there is nothing that tells them that there is something that is not right in what they are doing. They are "normal youngsters” (not sick or criminals), having fun with the body of a teenager while she is "asleep".

We should not be surprised by behaviours like theirs. Because they are more or less "normal" youngsters. Because, what is normal in a society is defined by the society itself. In a machista society where it is the victim’s fault when she gets raped, for travelling "alone" (Do you remember? 2 girls travelling together, are travelling "alone" according to the mainstream media), for walking back home too late, for wearing short skirts or too much make-up, for "asking for it" etc, it is not that abnormal for men to feel like society allows them to rape. It is not necessarily "socially acceptable", but it is not that condemned either. Rape is bad, but in a machista society it’s not just the rapist’s fault.

Rapes are happening all over the world, every minute. Not just in India. Not just in Brazil or Latin America. It is a worldwide problem where usually women are the direct victims. But the real root of rape is machismo (or hegemonic masculinity according to sociologist R.W. Connell). Or if it’s not the root, it’s at least a very good fertiliser. Which means that what we need to eliminate, is not rapists or short skirts. What we really need to fight against is machismo. Foment the respect for people. Not just the respect for a mother, sister, daughter. A real respect for the person.

And to come back to machismo, it is not an attitude that men create. And it is not a problem that only affects women. In a machista society, it is considered "normal" to be sexist: there are equally men and women who are machistas and foster the machista culture. It starts from the very moment a baby is conceived ("she got" pregnant), continues through childhood ("don’t fight like a girl") and strengthens during adulthood ("women are terrible drivers; we need a real man to rule the company"). All those clichés are indeed symptoms of a machista society.

No society improves at its maximum when only half of its members are taken into account as part of the problem or of the solution. This is not a problem that only affects women. This is not a problem that men create. This is society's problem that affects us all and that we all need to resolve. At all social and personal levels.

Associate

Helene is a Cypriot-French lawyer specialised on international law and human rights, and a puppeteer working for social change with children and adults. She is currently project manager and executor of the project On the road for childhood, aiming at promoting children rights through puppet shows, throughout Central and South America.

Education

Bachelor in Law (Université de Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne), Masters in Public International Law (University of Toronto, Canada), LLM in Human Rights (Irish Centre for Human Rights in Galway, National University of Ireland)

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